Grande Communications

Grande Communications of Texas provides fiber optic and cable broadband internet, digital cable TV, and local and long-distance phone service to customers in Texas. The company is based in San Marcos, TX. It was founded in 1999 and serves approximately 140,000 customers in Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Houston, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, San Marcos, Greater Temple, and Waco.

In 2017 a merger occurred among three companies that brand under their own names and also under the Astound Broadband umbrella. These were RCN Corporation, Wave Broadband, and Grande Communications of Texas. The combined companies serve more than 1 million customers in Texas, Washington state, Oregon, California, Illinois, Indiana, New York state, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Astound Broadband was acquired by Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners for $8.1 billion in 2021.

You can check online to see if service is available at your address. You may be required to input your contact information first. Astound Broadband has a $79.95 installation fee or you can opt to self-install the kit if you’re feeling technically empowered. You may be able to get the install fee waived if you sign up for a TV-internet-phone bundle.

You’ll also be leasing equipment from the company. Grande Communications offers a cable modem with an embedded wireless router for whole-home Wi-Fi. The DOCSIS 3.1 device combines a modem and wireless router in one compact unit, and also has a telephone modem built-in. The device lets you connect multiple PCs, laptops, gaming consoles, tablets, and other wireless devices throughout your home. Monthly rental rates are about $17 per month. That’s about $204 a year, year after year, so some broadband internet customers choose instead to BYO their own equipment.

You can’t opt to BYO for the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) internet because this type of signal requires an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) provided by the company. An ONT is typically a small white or black plastic box placed on a wall inside or outside of your home. Fiber optics require additional devices such as an ONT and specialized router to fully function. The ONT acts similar to a modem because it communicates with an Internet service provider (ISP) and converts the fiber optic signals from the provider into digital ones so devices like a Wi-Fi router can understand the signals. In your fiber network, the ONT is the de-facto modem. The fiber optic cable runs via an aerial or underground drop to the "clamshell" that the technician installs outside your home. This clamshell houses the fiber cable that goes through the wall and connects to the ONT.

But for broadband service, if you don’t want to lease the modem/router, you can install your own, however there are a few requirements. First, you have to be an enrolled subscriber, and, you have to have had the initial installation performed by a company technician. So, if you originally opted to self-install the company kit, and got that working successfully, but now want to switch over to your own modem/router, contact the company to see if you can perform the transition yourself without a tech appointment. You’ll need to return the equipment to the company to ensure that fees for the rental are dropped. Compatible modems should be DOCSIS 3.0 or DOCSIS 3.1 certified, have at least 16 Downstream Channels, and cannot be an eMTA (cable modem and telephone adapter).

Grande Communications fiber optic internet service is available in three different speeds that range from fast to lightning-fast: 300 Mbps, 600 Mbps, 940 Mbps, and 1200 Mbps. Grande Communications offers four internet-only plans with prices ranging from $25.99 to $54.99 per month excluding taxes and fees. The broadband cable service that’s delivered along a copper cable network has speeds up to 50 Mbps; which is comparable to that of other broadband cable internet providers. If you live in an area where Grande Communications has a fiber optic network in place clearly that’s the faster option.

There are no data caps for internet-only customers. You can stream as much HD or 4K content as you want. Grande Communications of Texas does use 12-month promotional pricing and without talking to a sales representative it can be difficult to find out what your price will be thereafter. If you’re seriously considering service from the company, take the time to call and ask for rates after the promotional period. Information suggests the increases can be very substantial and you don’t want to get sticker shock when the bill goes up. You can also contact Astound via live chat on the website, or via Twitter or Facebook.

The Power 300 plan offers up to 300 Mbps of download speed and up to 20 Mbps of upload speed. Includes in-home Wi-Fi for $25.99/mo. for the first 12 months.

The Power 600 plan offers up to 600 Mbps of download speed and up to 20 Mbps of upload speed for $49.99 for the first 12 months.

The Power 940 plan offers up to 940 Mbps of download speed and up to 50 Mbps of upload speed for $59.99 for the first 12 months.

The Power 1000 plan offers up to 1200 Mbps of download speed and up to 50 Mbps of upload speed for $69.99/mo. for the first 12 months.

Internet + TV bundles range from about $62/mo. to $175/mo. for the first 12 months depending on how fast you want your internet speeds to be and how many TV channels you want to get.

Reach out directly to the Astound website live chat window for more details.